Page 33 of Infatuated as They Come
“Oh, it’s from…” I had to stop myself. Back home, everyone knew who I was and where I came from and what I had. But in New York? No one had a clue about my background and I liked the idea of being known as more than just a spoiled rich girl. “My mom got it for me for my birthday,” I said.
“Where’d she get it?” Natalie tilted her head. “It’s so pink, I love it.”
“Um…”
“Do you mind if I check the label?” Natalie was suddenly standing behind me, fingers tugging at my collar. “It would look so good with—oh my God, is this real Dior?”
My eyes widened. “Sort of.”
“Sort of?” Claudia asked, fingers rubbing at the sleeve. “It’s so soft. Is it cashmere?”
“Maybe,” I murmured.
“Maybe?” they both said at the same time.
“No. Maybe. Yes,” I finally admitted. “Yes, it is, and it’s Dior.”
“Is your mom, like, single?” Natalie asked.
“Areyousingle?” Claudia wondered.
I laughed lightly. “Uh, no to both.”
“Please tell me I can borrow it sometime,” Claudia said.
“I saw it first,” muttered Natalie.
“You guys can both borrow it whenever,” I said. “Or my other clothes.”
“Wait, you have other Dior stuff?” Claudia asked.
So much for not being known as the rich girl. That went out the window in about five minutes. “A couple of things…”
“Interesting,” Natalie said.
“Ooh, I see someone else!” Claudia cried out, her eyes peering over my shoulder before she bolted. “Hi, Millie! It’s so nice to see you again!”
Oh, thank God. Saved by the bell thanks to Claudia’s seemingly never-ending supply of cheer spirit. “Where does all that energy come from?” I asked.
“Drugs,” Natalie said. “I’m just kidding. She’s like that all the time. It might rub off on you. Let’s go sit down while we wait for the other girls.”
One by one, more girls entered the gym. There were already fifteen established members on the team and five new girls including me. We sat in a circle in the middle of the gym and had a fun icebreaker session, and I got to learn a bit about all my new team members. There was Millie from California who wanted to be a drama teacher and Sophie from Vermont who dreamed of working in fashion, and after a while, I felt some of the butterflies that had been present earlier fly away.
“Time to give out uniforms!” Claudia stood up, voice loud and bright. “We’ve packed them all for you.”
Her and Natalie grabbed the red gym bags that had been stockpiled to our right, placing them in our laps.
I couldn’t help myself as I yanked open the zipper. There was something about slipping into a cheer uniform that made me feel all kinds of confident. Looking back at me was my brand new one, the top and skirt both a deep red. My fingers ran over the white Falcons lettering across the front of the cropped top before I grabbed the skirt. Annie had been right. It was a lot shorter than my older one, with two white stripes along the pleated hem.
“You’ll also find some other stuff in there,” Claudia continued. “There’s your welcome packet which goes over our schedules. The days we practice, what time, what you need to bring. There’s also a makeup protocol we like to follow so we’re all coordinated. You’ll find some photos of the look we’re going for in there. We’ve also included your training clothes, your pom poms, your bows, some glitter. Hm, what else?”
“Me and the girls also put together a little goody bag for you all,” Natalie said. “It’s just some candy and cute little things we thought you’d like.”
“We wanted to welcome you all with open arms,” Claudia said. “We’ve got a great team this year. We normally don’t take on so many freshmen, but you girls had some top notch back handsprings, and as a dance major, I know good performers when I see them. So, as your new head cheerleader: welcome to the team!”
“First football game of the season isn’t for a couple weeks,” Natalieexplained. “But we’ll be getting a few practice sessions in before then just to freshen up, then we’ll go back to our usual schedule.”
“Oh my God, look at the time.” Claudia’s eyes widened as she looked down at the little gold watch on her wrist. “I’m gonna make you guys late for your classes, but I think I went over everything. Me and the girls usually get ready together in my dorm. It’s cramped, but we make it work. Don’t worry, I’ll show you where it is. Let’s go, let’s go!”
